After Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney last month, his attorneys are pushing to have the case moved to the federal court system.
Donald Trump Has a Plan
Several of the current investigations of former President Donald Trump are in the federal court system, including the two separate investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith. That was also the case with the investigation by a different Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, during Trump’s presidency.
But the case for which Trump has been indicted, the one involving the accusation that Trump made payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, was brought in state court, by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. This is significant for a few reasons, one of which is that a conviction in state court would put Trump out of the reach of the pardon power, for himself or another president. Trump has pled not guilty to all 34 counts in the indictment.
Now, a new report says Trump is trying to move that case out of the New York court system altogether.
According to ABC News, the former president’s attorneys have filed a motion asking a judge to switch the venue of the New York case to federal court, because the accused conduct took place during his presidency, and therefore “the indictment charges [him] for conduct committed while he was President of the United States that was within the ‘color of his office.’”
The actual payment to Daniels took place during the 2016 campaign before Trump was president, but the reimbursements at the heart of the case took place while Trump was in the White House.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles noted the historical significance of the case.
“This case is unprecedented in our nation’s history,” She wrote in the motion, per ABC News. “Never before has a local elected prosecutor criminally prosecuted a defendant either for conduct that occurred entirely while the defendant was the sitting President of the United States or for conduct that related to federal campaign contribution laws.”
The New York Times stated that the effort to move the case to the federal courts was a “long shot.” There is a statute stating that some former officials in the federal government can have their cases switched to federal court if the charges involve conduct related to what they did in office.
“He’s welcome to try but its unlikely he’ll have any success,” former prosecutor Joyce Vance told the Times, adding that the conduct may have happened while Trump was president, but was not part of his official duties.
The judge in the case, while not yet deciding on the proposed change of venue, did tell the lawyers to agree to a trial date in February or March of 2024, ABC News said, although that schedule is tentative. This would place the trial right in the middle of the presidential primaries in which Trump is once again competing, to say nothing of his other potential legal entanglements.
In addition, the judge ordered that the former president “cannot agree to any speaking engagements, appearances” at the time of the trial, which would appear to prevent the possibility of rallies or political events during that time frame.
The judge went along with the prosecutors’ request, per the New York Times, to “limit Mr. Trump’s access to some case material and to bar him from spreading the prosecution’s evidence publicly.” However, he stopped short of granting a “gag order” to prevent Trump from talking about the case or people involved in it.
“Obviously Mr. Trump is different,” the judge said. “It would be foolish of me to say he isn’t. He’s a former president and he’s running again… his words do have consequences.”
Another New York case involving Trump, the civil suit from E. Jean Carroll arguing that the former president raped and defamed her, is wrapping up, with both sides resting their cases. The judge in that case, however, has given Trump until Sunday night to change his mind about testifying, CNN reported.
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Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
